Review: The Simple Wild by K.A. Tucker

The Simple Wild 
K.A. Tucker
Publication date: August 17, 2018
Genres: Contemporary, Romance
Source: Atria and NetGalley

Calla Fletcher was two when her mother took her and fled the Alaskan wild, unable to handle the isolation of the extreme, rural lifestyle, leaving behind Calla’s father, Wren Fletcher, in the process. Calla never looked back, and at twenty-six, a busy life in Toronto is all she knows. But when her father reaches out to inform her that his days are numbered, Calla knows that it’s time to make the long trip back to the remote frontier town where she was born.

She braves the roaming wildlife, the odd daylight hours, the exorbitant prices, and even the occasional—dear God—outhouse, all for the chance to connect with her father: a man who, despite his many faults, she can’t help but care for. While she struggles to adjust to this new subarctic environment, Jonah—the quiet, brooding, and proud Alaskan pilot who keeps her father’s charter plane company operational—can’t imagine calling anywhere else home. And he’s clearly waiting with one hand on the throttle to fly this city girl back to where she belongs, convinced that she’s too pampered to handle the wild.

Jonah is probably right, but Calla is determined to prove him wrong. As time passes, she unexpectedly finds herself forming a bond with the burly pilot. As his undercurrent of disapproval dwindles, it’s replaced by friendship—or perhaps something deeper? But Calla is not in Alaska to stay and Jonah will never leave. It would be foolish of her to kindle a romance, to take the same path her parents tried—and failed at—years ago.

It’s a simple truth that turns out to be not so simple after all.

Tucker has outdone herself. I do believe The Simple Wild has just taken the top spot when it comes to all I’ve read from this talented writer (or at least given the others a good shake-up).

I was captivated even from the prologue, when two year old Calla is taken away from her father by a mother who can no longer tolerate the reality of rural life in the Alaskan wild. More than two decades pass before Calla returns. Now twenty-six, she is very much a city girl but her life in Toronto is also at a crossroads. Receiving a call that her father has terminal diagnosis, Calla packs a bag (actually many bags) and returns to Alaska. Filled with questions about her parent’s past, uncertainty about a father she barely knows, and years of hurt over his absence in her life, Calla is unprepared for what she finds. Not only the harsh reality of life in Alaska, but also her taciturn father and Jonah, the gruff and grouchy pilot who instantly pegs her as high-maintenance, pampered and shallow.

Calla starts off as the classic fish out of water when she arrives in the fictional town of Bangor. Bemoaning her missing luggage, teetering through the mud in high heels, and annoyed without her morning latte with soy milk, she doesn’t exactly fit in. But as Calla spends time with her father, and with Jonah, she sees a different side of life in Alaska - the beauty of the land, the tenacity of the people, and a way of life that is unlike anything she has known.

I loved the evolution of Calla’s character over the course of the novel. From arriving with little more than a sense of duty and a desire to quickly return to her life, to slowly getting to know the father she barely knew and understanding the choices he’d made, Calla shows real growth and questions what she truly wants for herself. It was obvious she wouldn’t leave Alaska the same person as when she arrived. I felt her frustration as she tried to get to know her father. Watching the two of them tiptoe around each other and seeing the small, tentative steps they took towards one another touched my heart.

Jonah and Calla appeared to be total opposites. With a strong sense of commitment to his job and the people it impacted, Jonah was hard-working, adventurous and a risk-taker. He was also close to Calla’s father and understood him in ways that Calla didn’t.  He had no problem putting Calla in her place at every opportunity and their bickering and banter was priceless. As the animosity turned to attraction and then a relationship, it seemed inevitable that history would repeat itself and Calla would follow in her mother’s footsteps.  I loved the way their relationship unfolded. I’m not a fan of the enemies-to-lovers trope but this didn’t feel like a trope at all. Instead it felt utterly realistic. Calla, with her preconceived notions of who and what she would find in Alaska; and Jonah with his suspicion of Calla and disapproval of her relationship with her father. The long thaw between them helped to make the eventual turn in their relationship feel completely believable.

Tucker made rural Alaska come alive and the setting felt as if were another character in the story. The imagery is stunning and brought every scene to life, making it easy to fully immerse myself in the story.

Powerful and emotional, this is a tale of coming to terms with the past, recognizing our parents as flawed individuals, acceptance and forgiveness, and having the courage to embrace a future that is unlike anything you imagined for yourself. At times so raw and real that it made my heart ache, The Simple Wild pulled me in from the very start and kept me completely invested in these characters and their lives through every turn of the page. One of my top reads of 2018.

4.5/5 STARS

Note: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. This does not my opinion of the book or the content of this review. I received no compensation and my review is voluntary.